Crossing the Line
by Alexander-Crossover
Summary: Part 3 of Family Journeys: The Cardcaptor Saga. Lloyd, Alex, Kero, and Maurice set off, now having to cross the border between the United States and Canada. Along the way they will have adventures and maybe even meet a new friend or two.
1. Resupply and Departure

**Crossing the Line**

Chapter 1: Resupply and Departure

Lloyd walked through downtown Regina with no real purpose in mind. He'd gone to buy food supplies earlier with Maurice and Alex earlier and now he was carrying around a backpack full of said supplies, mostly canned goods and dried food that wouldn't perish easily. Now he was just killing time as Maurice had told him he was going to buy some efficient and useful camping supplies while Alex had gone back to his house to take care of affairs there and pack the belongings he'd need. This left Lloyd to explore the downtown area, not that there was as much to explore as he had thought there would be, he wandered up Scarth street, pausing for a moment at Tramps Book Store to look in the window at a display of board games and old records that were there purely for display. He really wasn't interested in most of the things the store sold, trading cards, and RPG books, so he didn't really bother going inside.

Lloyd reached the end of Scarth Street and turned left. He looked absentmindedly into the shop windows not really taking notice of an anything until he passed one shop that caused his senses to go off as though he had just sensed a Clow Card. Turning he saw what had caused his sense to act up, it was a board that was about the size of a half-sized board game and looked like two squares of the same size stuck together to resemble an eight-pointed star with a thin gold line around the shape equally distant from the edge all the way around. Each point had a different symbol, each of which looked vaguely familiar to him, some emblems he'd seen in a book of Koran's when he was younger, symbols for eight different elements of the planet: metal, electricity, water, wind, fire, earth, light, and darkness, with each symbol opposite the element that was defined as such, water across from fire, wind across from earth, light across from dark, and metal across from electricity; at the centre of the board was the Yin-Yang symbol. Lloyd had never seen the board before but he could feel the magical power emanating from it. He looked up at the sign above the door which read: Tokyo 7, Japanese and Anime Import Store, and then had the Japanese Kanji for those words written underneath them.

"That's a Lazin Board," Kero had poked his head out of Lloyd's backpack, fortunately there was no one within earshot so the bear didn't have to shove Kero back out of site.

"A Lazin board?" Lloyd had never heard of such a thing, "what does it do?"

"A Lazin board is a magical energy locator, if you can get it, it will allow you to track the Clow Cards over a much greater distance."

"So it's like a Clow Card compass?" Lloyd asked.

"Exactly, so if you get it our search for the Clow Cards will go much faster."

"Right, then just stay out of sight and let me handle this. I should have enough money to get that." Kero ducked back inside Lloyd's backpack and the bear entered the store. The bell over the door dinged and the one employee in the store, a balding Caucasian man in his mid 20s who was the teller, He looked up, then down to noticed the bear.

"A cosplayer," he muttered under his breath. Lloyd heard him but paid the comment no mind as he walked up to the counter and asked.

"Excuse me, but how much is that odd looking board in your window?" he asked, pointing to the Lazin Board where is sat in the shop window.

"That thing," the teller walked to the window and returned with the board, blowing some dust off of it as he retuned to the counter, "Not sure, it's one of a kind but I can't see anything of use it might have. The store owner said that if someone wanted to buy it I could use my judgment to set a price," he considered the board for a moment and finally said, "I'll say $70, hope you can afford that."

"It's only worth $40," Kero shouted from Lloyd's backpack.

"What?" the man asked. Lloyd decided to pretend he had just spoken.

"I said I'm willing to pay $40 for it," Lloyd said.

"well, how about $60?"

"$50"

"$55"

"Done," Lloyd handed over three $20 bills and got a $5 in return.

"Thanks," Lloyd said, taking the board under her arm as he left the store. The teller watched the bear leave.

"That was one good costume, his eyes and mouth even moved like they should have. Strange though, he looked familiar but I can't quite place it. Oh well, back to work."

Lloyd walked out of Tokyo 7 holding the board in his hand. Kero poked his head out of Lloyd's backpack and stared at the board.

"I can't believe there's a Lazin Board here," Kero said.

"Well it should help, so how does it work?" he asked the guardian beast.

"I'll show you later, once we're back at the house," Kero's face lit up, "now let's go, we can stop for ice cream on the way."

The bear shook his head, "Is sweet food all you think about," he said, pushing him back into his backpack as he made his way to the bus stop, Alex having given him a key to his house that morning.

"So what exactly does that Chinese Checkers board do?" Alex asked. A couple hours had passed since Lloyd had bought the board downtown and he, Alex, Maurice, and Kero were now sitting in Alex's living room.

"It's not Chinese Checkers you little brat, it's a Lazin Board. Lloyd can use it to find the Clow Cards at a long distance so he can track them down almost anywhere," Kero explained.

"So I take it that thing will be telling us where to go eh? How does it work eh?" Maurice asked

"Let me show," Lloyd said, standing up from the couch and holding the board flat out in his hands, reciting the incantation that Kero had told him earlier.

"Source of Light with Ancient Spin,

Send Forth the Magic Power Within,

Oracles of Metal, Wind, Water, and Electricity

Force Know my Plight,

Release the Light!"

As he said those words, the board lit up and a large dome of blue energy formed before firing out a bright blue beam that pointed south west, even going through the walls.

"So the next Clow Card is that way?" Alex asked.

"Definitely," Lloyd said, "and from what Kero told me, the beam being that thin means it's at least 250 kilometers from here." Maurice meanwhile had been using a compass to set the bearing the board was pointing to.

"Hold on a sec eh, I can figure out where we need to go eh," Maurice got up and picked up an atlas, turning to the road map of Saskatchewan and using a ruler to find the direction and measuring the distance so he could find where they needed to go

"Looks like it's pointing towards Portal eh,"

"Portal?" Lloyd and Alex asked.

"It's a town on the border of Saskatchewan and North Dakota in the United States, we may need to cross the border eh?"

"Well are we supposed to walk there, I don't wanna that far!" Alex said feeling a bit miffed.

"Hey if I can walk that far then you should at least try to!" Lloyd retorted.

"I agree that walking all that way is a bit too impractical eh," Maurice said, "we can catch a bus to Estevan and then portal is only about 35 kilometers from there, we can easily walk from there eh."

"The bus? I thought that was just for inside the city," Lloyd said.

"You can take busses between cities you know, I can't believe you walked from Sasktoon to here because you didn't know that," Alex said. Lloyd ignored the fox's comment.

"So can we leave today, Clow Cards have a nasty habit of not staying put," Kero said.

"We should be able to eh, we just need to get to the bus station soon. I was able to get the rest of the supplies we need for this eh." Maurice thought of something, "Lloyd do you have a passport?"

"Yeah, I do actually," he reached into a pocket of his vest and pulled out his passport, "Madison Julian helped me get one while I was in Saskatoon."

"How did you manage that?" Alex asked, skeptical.

"Let's just say that it was an arduous and annoying process and I'd rather not have to recount it," Lloyd said, looking exasperated.

"I can imagine," Alex said sarcastically, "but as long as we're ready, we should get going now, before it gets too late."

About half an hour later, Alex, Maurice, and Lloyd were standing in line in the STI bus station downtown, each of them had been able to purchase their own tickets and their ride was set to depart in about 10 minutes. Alex was in front with Maurice behind him and Lloyd in the back. They were standing in line because they wanted to get in line on the bus first, and take the big three person seat at the back so they could sit together, none of them too keen on sitting next to someone they didn't know. People were piling up behind them at the moment as the boarding time approached.

One man approached the line and observed it, groaning as he was too late to get in a reasonable spot in line. Seeing that the three lead positions were taken by strange beings he sighed and moved to the head of the line, cutting in front of them. Alex was appalled by the person's lack of courtesy and angrily tapped his back to get his attention. The man whirled around to see who was trying to get his attention, and was mystified until the fox spoke up.

"Down here!" the man looked down and was surprised to see the little fox glaring up at him angrily and tapping his foot on the ground, "that was our spot you just cut into."

"Are you kidding me," the man said angrily, "Some little toy is talking to me and telling me what to do! Why is everyone waiting behind you? You're not even human you shouldn't even be allowed to take the bus!"

Alex gritted his teeth and balled his fists, "Why you!" he drew his right hand back, ready to throw a punch. But Maurice stopped him, using his strong hand to hold the fox's fist in place.

"Alex, you just finished your probation and I don't want you to get in trouble again so soon." Alex sighed and relaxed his hand and Maurice released it. The man ahead of him showed contempt with a snort and turned back to face forwards. Lloyd had watched this proceeding and truthfully, he had wanted to deck the man himself, or electrocute him, but this was not the time or place for such a thing so he retorted.

"I bet if you had kids you wouldn't think so little of us."

"Yeah, I bet," the man said, deciding to ignore the furry creatures behind him. There were some hushed whispers behind the three animals but most of them were commenting on the rudeness of the man, who was obviously from out of town, as the people in the city had come to know Alex and Maurice through association or word of mouth and treated them fairly, people from out of town tended not to think so highly them so events like these would be expected to happed at a bus terminal.

The boarding call was sounded and the three animals followed the man onto the bus, thankfully the man took a seat at the front so the three of them were able to take sears at the back after putting most of their stuff underneath the bus so they could claim it in Estevan. The bus ride was pretty boring, 3 hours of listening to the rumbling of the tires, they conversed for a while about how they would proceed, deciding that Lloyd should check the location and distance once they got to Estevan, but they all agreed that they would stay in a hotel for the night before moving on, so they would be well rested in the morning. There wasn't much to talk about really, the four of them, including Kero who was asleep by now, already knowing most everything about each other. Maurice pointed out several landmarks he had seen before as the bus traveled south east.

Finally the bus pulled into Estevan and they claimed their luggage at the bus station. Maurice was the first to a pay phone and called for a local taxi to take them to a nearby hotel. They stood outside in the late afternoon and waited for the Taxi. The grey cab arrived and the driver at first looked like he felt he was in the wrong place, but once Maurice explained that they were real they were able to load their luggage and set off for the hotel. The hotel was a comfort inn, and they were able to easily get access to a room with two beds, Lloyd volunteering to sleep on the floor as he was used to sleeping on the ground. That night as they were getting settled into their room, Alex asked.

"Hey, Lloyd, are you sure that crazy magical compass of yours led us the right way?"

"As far as I know it did, it's the first time I used it so I might have made a slight error, but the Clow Cards are scattered and the board might have homed in on the largest concentration of them, or the average direction for all of them since their energy is hard to pick up on at such a large distance," the bear replied, "I'll check the direction in the morning, but for now, I just need some sleep."

"Yes we all should get some sleep eh, we have a long road ahead of us and who knows when we'll be able to sleep under a roof again eh," Maurice said.

Alex sighed, "Yeah yeah." He lay back and muttered to himself, "I'm starting to regret this trip of mine." Before closing his eyes and trying to sleep, waiting to see what the next day would bring.


	2. Crossing to the Skies

Chapter 2: Across to the skies

The next morning after they had eaten breakfast and checked out of the hotel the three animals made their way to the south east edge of town, where they were sure they would have to leave from. Once there, Lloyd took out the Lazin Board and spoke the incantation again, but shorter than the first one had been.

"Source of Light with Ancient Spin,

Send Forth the Magic Power Within,

Force Know my Plight,

Release the Light!"

The board lit up and the blue dome formed on it again, firing out a thin blue line into the distance, but one that was wider than the one that had been fired back in Regina. Lloyd smiled.

"That Clow Card I searched for back in Regina is still where it was then, and we're even closer now."

"Then it looks like we're still headed to Portal eh," Maurice said.

"Great, just what I was looking forwards to, a full day of walking," Alex complained.

"Well it won't help just standing around here, brat," Kero said.

"Who're you calling a brat you stuffed animal!?" Alex retorted angrily.

"Who are you calling a Stuffed animal!" Kero bolted out of Lloyd's backpack and Lloyd was forced to grab his tail to keep him from attacking Alex.

"Will you two cut it out!" the bear shouted at Kero and Alex. It looked for a moment like a long and pointless argument was going to start when Maurice stepped between them and took a hold of Kero, strongly enough to keep him still but not hurting him.

"Let's not start our trip this way eh," he said, "save your argument for another time, like when we've made camp eh." Alex sighed in exasperation.

"Fine! Let's just get going then, the sooner we get to where we can camp, the better," Alex began walking to where the beam had pointed. Maurice released Kero who went to ride on Lloyd's backpack and the moose and bear followed him. Maurice had advised them to keep the conversation on a long walk to a minimum as that would just tire them out faster, so the day passed mostly in silence as the four of them made tracks towards the city of Portal. They only stopped once that day for lunch, eating some good sandwiches that Alex had made the previous day; they only drank water, more of Maurice's advice as it was the most potent hydrator they could drink and because it they would need to get used to drinking it as long as they were on the road. Despite his earlier complaints, Alex proved to have rather good stamina and was able to keep up with the two more seasoned hikers throughout the day. Alex was tiring faster than the others were but he decided to tough it out, telling himself he would only complain if felt dehydrated or was having severe pains, fortunately he was able to survive the day.

Seven hours into their walk the three companions spotted the town of Portal some distance away.

Alex sighed with relief, thinking to himself, _'Finally, I didn't think we'd be able to make it any farther.'_ Maurice looked back at the Fox, who had been lagging behind slightly for the past 2 hours. Despite the Fox's efforts to tough the trip out, the observant Maurice could see he was getting tired, but hadn't said anything yet; he knew if they pushed themselves without going to the point of dropping from exhaustion then they would gain more stamina and be able to walk for longer without tiring, though he had to admit to himself that he was impressed by how long the teenage fox had been able to last that day without complaining.

Lloyd had paid no attention, his mind having been on other things that day, most prominently was whether or not the Clow Card he had located would still be nearby once they made it to Portal. He honestly hadn't noticed Alex's exhaustion beyond the fact that while the fox had started out in the lead, he was now lagging behind them. Kero had climbed back into Lloyd's backpack and had fallen asleep a couple hours ago, not really having any reason to stay awake since he didn't have to walk himself and didn't have much to talk about.

Maurice then spoke up, for the first time since lunch, "Looks like we'll make it to Portal before evening eh, guess we won't have to camp out until tomorrow at the earliest." Alex just nodded, not wanting to speak as he was tired enough as it was. Lloyd didn't reply, at first, still so focused on the destination that he hadn't heard the moose clearly. The bear shook his head, as if to clear it, and said.

"Sorry, what? I wasn't listening."

"I said we'll make it to Portal in less than an hour eh," Maurice said.

"OK then, let's keep moving so we can get there before the evening," Lloyd said, as they continued to walk.

An hour later they were in the city and began to look for a Motel to spend the night in deciding they would search for the Clow Card in the morning, unless it attacked during the night. After they checked into the Hotel they had a quick supper from the restaurant across the street, which was called Smitties, and went up to their room. Lloyd once again volunteered to sleep in the floor in a sleeping bag and as soon as Alex got into bed, he fell asleep once his head hit the pillow, completely exhausted from the day's traveling. Lloyd used the Lazin board once more before he went to bed and it still pointed in the same direction, but with a wider beam than the one in Estevan.

"Looks like it's across the border eh," Maurice said.

"So I guess we'll be crossing the border in the morning then," Lloyd said.

"Got that right eh," the moose looked over at Alex and sighed, "look at him, he was completely exhausted for that last leg today."

"He was?" Lloyd asked, "I never noticed."

"I don't blame you eh, Alex isn't built for long walks but he likes to think he is tougher than he really is but I'm impressed by how long he held out eh."

"Yeah," Lloyd said, climbing into the sleeping bag on the floor and putting his head on the spare pillow he had pulled from one of the drawers of a dresser in their room, and falling asleep, Maurice following suit in his bed shortly thereafter.

Morning came all too soon for Alex, even though he was the last one up and had to be woken up by his companions before he got up. Grumbling to himself he got up and followed them down to breakfast in a nearby restaurant. After they ate the grabbed their luggage and checked out of the Motel, and headed for the border crossing station. AS they walked through town, people were giving the three of them odd looks but for the most part, they ignored each other.

The border crossing station was in the middle of town, dividing it into a northern and a southern Portal; once they made it to the border crossing station they were greeting by an RCMP officer who looked to be in his mid-30s. As they approached the officer, he blinked and called out.

"Hey, Maurice!" The moose seemed to recognize the officer and called back to him.

"Alfred, didn't think I'd run into you here eh," Maurice said, jogging up to shake hands with him. The moose turned back to Alex and Lloyd who were just reaching the station now.

"Who're your friends Maurice?" Alfred asked.

"The fox is Alex, I told you about him the last time we met eh, and the bear is Lloyd Terada, I met him the other day and he's the reason I'm here eh."

"Who's this?" Alex asked, somewhat annoyed that they hadn't been introduced.

"Oh this is Alfred, he's a colleague of mine that I met when I was on my rotating assignments around Canada," Maurice explained.

"I see," Lloyd said, "so what exactly do we have to do to cross the border?" he asked Alfred.

"Just come over here, show me your citizenship and passports and I'll get you through," Alfred said. Each of them turned over their ID and passports while Alfred took care of the legal; he and Maurice chatted about old times while Lloyd wandered away from them.

Maurice looked over to them and Alfred spoke up.

"Be careful, there have been some sightings of an unusually large bird just south of the border," he cautioned.

"An unusually large bird eh?" Maurice questioned _'could it be him?' _he added to himself.

The bear could feel it, the Clow Card he had been tracking was closer now, not only that but he was sure it could sense him as well and would attack before too long. Kero peered out making sure no one was within earshot, before sticking his head out and quietly speaking up.

"You sense I don't you?"

Lloyd nodded, "Yeah, whichever card it is it's getting closer, if we don't hurry through the border it could attack Portal in broad daylight."

"Well then, just make sure that you get out of town before it gets too close," Kero said.

"You mean a Clow Card," Alex, bored with the conversation between the two Mounties, had wandered over to Lloyd to listen in on his conversation with the guardian beast. Lloyd turned to face him and sighed.

"Yes I do and it's close," Lloyd said.

"So when do we go after it?" Alex asked eagerly.

"'We' won't, this is business only for Cardcaptors and you'll be no help kid," Kero said.

"Hey I helped out when Lloyd was fighting the Watery Card!" Alex retorted.

"Keep it down," Lloyd said, a bit harshly, "we don't want to attract any more attention."

"To what, that stuffed animal in your back pack?" Alex asked contemptuously.

"Who's a stuffed mphh," once again, Lloyd was forced to stuff Kero back into his backpack.

"This is getting aggravating, can't you stop antagonizing him Alex?" Lloyd asked, now quite annoyed at him.

"I said I'd come along because you need my help with the Clow Cards so why can't I help out here!" Alex demanded.

"Because you don't have the powers I do and you were only able to help with that last capture because I reacted as fast as I did, had I been even a moment later you would be dead now," Lloyd explained

"Says you, I can handle myself against the Clow Cards!" Alex said.

"And I'm saying you'd be mincemeat in moments!" Lloyd shouted back. Several people were staring at them and their feud, which looked like it was about to get more serious, until Maurice came over to both break up the fight and tell them that they had the clearance to cross the border. The interruption was enough to keep them from arguing further and they walked through the gate, giving Alfred a casual goodbye as they crossed into South Portal in the United States.

There wasn't much different between the cities, and all they did before getting out of town was to go to a currency changer to exchange their Canadian money for American money, after which they headed south out of town. Once they were suitably away from the roads Lloyd pulled out the Lazin Board again to check for the Clow Card, this time it showed they were getting really close so they should be on their toes. Maurice was scanning the sky at the moment as though he was looking for something and for once Lloyd was the first to notice.

"What are you looking for, Maurice?" Lloyd asked.

"Alfred said he heard reports of, hold on," he focused on a small dot in the sky before grabbing a pair of binoculars that were hanging from a strap on his backpack and looking up at it. Once he got a clear view of it he smiled and began waving at it. His companions looked at him oddly.

"What are you waving at, a passing jet?" Alex asked cynically.

"No an old friend," Maurice said. Somehow, the small dot seemed to notice Maurice's waving and began to descend; as it got closer they could all see it was a bird, an eagle to be specific but as it came into a visual range where they could see it wasn't normal. The bird was larger than a bald eagle should be and its eyes looked more human, like theirs were, and like the rest of them it had a heart shape on it's nose, or rather a small red heart stamped on the front of its beak.

"Maurice Mackenzie, it's been a long time," the eagle said, moving its beak to enunciate in a way that looked like it should have been impossible but apparently was possible because of his transformation. The eagle landed next to Maurice to show that he was about the same height as the moose, however he stooped slightly his body's orientation seemed to be halfway between humanoid and that of an ordinary eagle. The eagle reached out with his right wing, which moved like a humans arm with each feather on the wing tip acting like a finger. Maurice took his friend's wing in hand and shook it like a hand.

"Soaring Heart Eagle, it's been a long time eh," Maurice said.

"Yes it has, my friend," the eagle looked over at the other two animal tilted his head on one side, "who are you," he asked.

"My name is Lloyd Terada," Lloyd said, before Alex could speak up, causing the fox to give him a dirty look before he responded.

"My name is Alex Kitun," the fox said.

"I see, the young fox that Maurice told me of," the eagle said, "I met Maurice while he was on his tour around Canada."

"I see," Lloyd said, "So you name is Soaring Heart, why were you named that."

"I wasn't, eagles are not named at birth by their parents. We live for several years without a name and once we know who we are we pick a name for ourselves. I feel that I have a heart that soars," at this point the eagle spread his wings, "so I named myself, Soaring Heart."

"Huh, well that's weird," Alex said, "so what is your story anyways, Soaring Heart?"

"Hmm, well it's not that long but I shall tell you. I was an ordinary eagle for quite some time and I was raised as such. I learned to fly, hunted, ate, and migrated for a few years. Things changed for me when I took my first mate and attempted to have chicks. One day she suddenly died from some illness, I'm not sure what it was, and I was left to raise our chicks myself. Sadly the ledge I built my nest on was unstable and it collapsed one day while I was out hunting, when I returned, the sight I beheld broke my heart so I left that place in order to search for my purpose.

"As I flew I began to feel different, and it was at this point that I chose my name. After some time flying, I began to notice that I had changed I was larger than I use to be and had this heart shaped stamp on my beak," he gestured to it with hi wing, "and I found I could use the feathers on the end of my wings as a human would fingers. It was then I found I could speak the human language when watching a boy practicing his long jump about to give up when I felt compelled to speak and told him not to give up and push his limits. I began to fly across this nation and Canada in order to seek out others, however until today, Maurice was the only other like myself I've met. I've often helped people to push their limits and in the same sense I am always pushing mine. In the 45 years I've lived I have learned to fly higher than any other eagle can.

"There's not much else to tell really, unless you want to hear about all the random people I've met," the eagle finished.

"Not really," Alex said. The eagle didn't look surprised but turned back to Maurice.

"So, Maurice, what brings you here?" he asked.

"Well that's actually quite a long story eh, I'll tell you while we," Maurice was cut off by a loud noise from overheard that sounded like the cry of some giant animal. Lloyd's gaze instantly shot up to where the voice had come from and Kero flew out of the backpack and said.

"It's here, The Fly Card!" The giant bird that was now in the sky seemed to have appeared from nowhere and its cries sounded powerful enough to shatter glass.

"I knew it could sense me," Lloyd says, "and if I don't stop it here it'll attack Portal." Lloyd grabbed the key from around his neck and held it out reciting the incantation.

"Oh Key of Clow,

Power of Magic,

Power of Light,

Surrender the Wand,

The Force Ignite,

Release!"

He grabbed the extended staff out of the air, shrugged out of his backpack, grabbed the Book of the Clow out of it, and turned to the others shouting.

"Stay back, this thing is dangerous!" He dropped his staff and withdrew his medallion from his vest pocket, summoning up his sword. He focused then swung his sword in the direction of the giant bird.

"Force, know my plight release the light! Lightning!" the bolt of lightning that flew up missed the target and Lloyd cursed, trying again and hitting, but doing so little damage owing to the long distance the blast of lightning had to travel.

"It's no good, it's too big and far away to hit," Kero said.

Lloyd resealed his sword, "yeah, and if I can't stop it, it's going to head for Portal. I need to get up there somehow."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance," Lloyd looked over to Soaring Heart, who had just spoken.

"How could you help," Alex asked, a bit cynically.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look, I could carry you up there to get you close enough to get on that creature's back, but I wouldn't be able to help you after that."

"It all I got," Lloyd said. It wasn't like he really had a choice as he grabbed his staff from the ground walked over to the eagle and carefully climbed onto his back, if he didn't do this the Fly Card would attack the town and he needed to keep this aspect as secret as possible from bystanders.

"Hold, Lloyd, this will be rough at first." Soaring Heart proved to be just a strong as he mentioned, taking a running start and taking off into the sky, flapping his wings more than normal to maintain the climb with a passenger, and approaching the giant Fly Card Spirit. Lloyd had some trouble holding on at first, but found a good grip on Soaring Heart's feathers, which didn't hurt him, and held his staff, eventually getting into a pose where he would be able to leap off at a moment's notice. The Fly Card was oblivious to them, its gaze rooted on the town of Portal in front of it, and Soaring Heart was able to get fairly close. Once he was close enough, Lloyd took a moment, then sprung onto the giant bird's back, at the same time, Soaring Heart dove away from the giant bird, which turned out to be a wise move because as soon as Lloyd landed on the monster's back, ti cried out and began to move jerkily, trying to dislodge the bear.

Kero was watching from below, not able to fly that high on his own, and mentally hoping Lloyd could pull this off, but he knew he could. Alex was amazed and bit jealous that eh couldn't help out, and Maurice was impressed at just how quickly Lloyd had gone after the monster to keep it from attacking the town. Lloyd was holding on for dear life while trying to think of what to do. He grabbed for a Clow Card, hoping to get one of the two cards he wanted, he grabbed the card and checked it. Yes, it was the Thunder Card. He threw the card forwards striking it with his staff's beak and calling out the incantation.

"Thunder Card, use your power to paralyze and bring down Fly, Release and Dispell!" with the call, the thunder beast appeared from the card, leapt upwards, and split into multiple bolts of electricity which swiftly wrapped around the large bird spirit, electrocuting it and causing it to start losing altitude. Lloyd braced himself and was able to leap off the bird's back as it hit the ground hard, unable to move because of the electricity holding it in place. The bear turned to the Fly Spirit and raised his staff.

"Fly Card, I command you to return to your power confined! Fly Card!" He swung at the card and after a few moments it was captured, the card floated up and into Lloyd's hand, who took out a pen and wrote his name across the bottom, sealing it to his possession. Lloyd sighed, a bit winded, and walked over to meet his companions, who came over to meet him.

"Good job eh, you kept that card from attacking Portal," Maurice said, heartily clapping Lloyd on the back.

"That was amazing," Kero said, turning to Soaring Heart next, "thanks for the help Soaring Heart."

"You're quite welcome, but I must ask, what was that thing and who exactly are you?" the eagle said to the small creature.

"I hate to break up story time," Alex said, "but people aren't going to just ignore that fight and we're going to be questioned when the local authorities show up."

"He has a point eh," Maurice said, "we'd better get moving before anyone shows up."

Lloyd nodded and walked over to grab his backpack, which Kero dove into as soon as he had it back, collapsed his staff back into the key and hung it around his neck. The four companions then set off, heading south since it was the only way that a city wasn't in visible range.

By evening, they were far enough from other towns to set up camp, the first camp out for Alex, Lloyd, and Kero in fact, and certainly not the last. The sun was setting in the horizon as they each pitched their tents and prepared to get some sleep. Maurice had brought firewood with them and built a small fire, not too big because it was still early autumn, and they ate the last of the prepare food from two days ago, the eagle sitting was odd, as his tail was curled under him and his body looked oddly bent, however his body was comfortable like this and he was able to cross his legs despite the apparent oddity and difficulty of it. They sat around the fire as the sun sank in the distance, except for Alex, who sat further back near his tent.

"Hey Alex, are you alright eh?" Maurice asked the fox.

Alex eyed the fire somewhat nervously and replied, "I'm fine, I'm gonna turn in now if you don't mind," the fox crawled into his tent and curled up in his sleeping bag.

"So do we need someone on watch duty tonight?" Lloyd asked.

"Not necessary," Soaring Heart said, "I've spent a lot of time sleeping out in the open and some people have attacked me before, so I sleep with one eye open, so to speak, and I'll be able to tell if something dangerous comes our way, as long as I'm outside."

"That's a relief eh," Maurice said, he'd known about how keen Soaring Heart's senses were but he let the eagle speak for himself. The eagle smiled and nodded, and then turned back to Lloyd.

"So, Lloyd Terada, what exactly is your story?

"It's quite a long one, but as long as we're here I'll tell you before the morning." Lloyd told his tale to the eagle. Soaring Heart listened intently amazed by Lloyd's story and when Lloyd finished he spoke up.

"That is an amazing story, and from what I saw earlier with that large bird I can't really deny that it's true."

"You know, unless you have something pressing to take care of, you could come with us Soaring Heart," Maurice suggested.

"I would like to, if you would allow it since you're the magic user here," the eagle's request was put to Lloyd.

The bear smirked and said, "I don't mind really, and it's not like I can stop you from wandering along with us even if I said no." Lloyd stretched and yawned, standing up, "Well I'm going to bed now, see you in the morning," the green bear retired to his tent to sleep, leaving the two old friends to sit up together. Maurice looked at the fire and sighed.

"I never thought I'd run into you again so easily eh," he said to Soaring Heart.

"Indeed, you've made some interesting friends with Lloyd and that creature Kero. But Alex acts different than you described him," he said.

"That's true eh, Alex used to be such a happy child but with his parent's gone I have yet to see him smile again. But," he looked over at the fox's tent, "when he looks at Lloyd, I can see a shine in his eyes that I hadn't seen before eh. Despite what Alex says, I think he genuinely thinks of Lloyd as his friend."

"That's good then, perhaps now we should turn in, if these Clow Cards are as dangerous as he says we should endeavor to find as many as possible as quickly as possible."

"That's right eh," Maurice took a bucket he's filled with water earlier and thoroughly drenched the fire, making sure all the embers were out before he and the eagle turned in.


	3. Travel Troubles

Chapter 3: Travel Troubles  


The next morning it became obvious that Alex was having a hard time adjusting to living in the open, he was the last to get up even with the others encouraging him and as a result, he was the last one to get packed for the day's walking. Lloyd used the Lazin board again that morning and found their next card was to the south east, roughly 100 kilometers according to how thin the line was. Using a road map of North Dakota he had acquired in Portal, Maurice was able to estimate that the card would be in or around the city of Minot so they set off, avoiding going near any main highways and just crossing the small grid roads, as the cars would likely be slower and therefore easier to get past.

As the day's walk wore on, Alex struggled to keep up with both Lloyd and Maurice's faster pace; Soaring Heart moved at varying speeds, sometimes moving slower than any of them on his shorter legs and sometimes flying on ahead briefly or hovering along with them a few meters above their heads. Alex didn't like having to keep up with the faster pace of the two but he forced himself along with the pace that the bear and the moose were setting. Alex was grateful when they stopped for lunch and he could take a break as they each made and ate a sandwich from their provisions.

The sun rose higher and the heat of the day beat down on them. Alex eventually removed his shirt and had to hustle a couple times to keep up with the others, but he kept how tired he was from being known to the others and plowed onwards. Even as he did so he could feel fatigue setting in especially due to the heat. Two hours after lunch, Alex tripped over a rock in the ground and collapsed. He tried to get up but was just too tired to force himself to stand up all the way and collapsed again. His tired moans caught the attention of the other four members of the group, as Kero was floating alongside Lloyd as he walked, and they turned back. Maurice was the first at the fox's side, trying to help him, the fox moaned but didn't speak.

"We might as well set up camp here eh, help me get his backpack off and his tent up," the Mounty said.

A few minutes later, Alex was dozing inside his tent while the others set up their nightly lodgings. Lloyd began to hammer a tent peg into place as he spoke.

"What's wrong with Alex?"

"Just some minor heat stroke and exhaustion eh, he'll be fine if he rests for a while. He's not as used to walking as either of us and he can't fly so I guess he just pushed himself too hard to try and prove he could keep up with us."

"If he keeps that up he may end up ding the same thing to himself again," Soaring Heart said as he helped Maurice with his tent, "Although I feel I must point out that this is the fastest way for him to build up stamina it will leave him weakened if he pushes himself this hard everyday." As they finished setting up their tents, they heard Alex stir and crawl of out his tent, bleary eyed but now rested enough to move on his own.

"I see you're up, are you feeling better?" Soaring Heart asked.

"I'm fine. Why are we setting up camp? It's not the evening," Alex said.

"We stopped because you collapsed from exhaustion," Lloyd explained, "Why didn't you tell us you were so tired," Lloyd's voice rose in volume and anger. The fox glared at him.

"I can manage just fi…"

"No you can't eh," Maurice interrupted, "we can move at a slower pace if that will help but for now we'll just stop here." Lloyd retreated to his tent with Kero for the moment and lay down, the guardian beast sitting next to him.

"Hey, Kero?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"If we move too slowly, will the Clow Cards move from where the Lazin Board points them out?"

"Well, the Clow Cards have been free for over a decade, most of them will have settled down and gone dormant until you get close, except for the more active ones like The Fly, and those will eventually seek you out once you get close enough."

"Good, I was kind of afraid I'd have to leave these guys behind to get to the cards," Lloyd smiled, "I've only known them for a short time, but already they feel like close friends. We'll just set out in the morning and make sure Alex can keep up."

Maurice was sitting outside his tent with Soaring Heart and watching the distance, it wasn't evening but they would be there through the night, possibly even setting out before dawn to lessen the heat form traveling.

"So how does it feel to be traveling with us eh?" Maurice asked before taking a drink of water from his canteen.

"Good to be traveling with friends," the eagle said, "they are quite interesting people to be sure, especially Kero; if he's as old as he says he might have some interesting things to talk about."

Maurice couldn't help but laugh, "He may know a lot about those Close Cards, but he usually is just concerned with eating as much sweet food as he can eh. He told me he doesn't really need food so he just eats for the tastes."

"Indeed," Soaring Heart said, "So why did you decided to journey with Lloyd?"

"I saw him fight one of the cards back in Regina eh, it was like watching nature get out of control and being tamed by someone unique. I want to see to it that rampant things like this don't get out of hand, so things like that day won't happen again."

"Ah yes, that forest fire. A pity it had to happen, but alas, we all have to face our realities, if not for such tragedies we wouldn't be the same people we are today."

Maurice nodded and sighed.


	4. The Sleepy City

Chapter 4: The Sleepy City

Two days later the group of friends arrived in Minot. It was a fairly large city but curiously it wasn't very busy, for mid day, then again it was Saturday, as Maurice confirmed, so there wasn't much going on. About an hour later they ended up downtown and they all realized they were hungry, except Soaring Heart, who had flown off to find his own food earlier. Alex suggested they go to the local mall food court and all just find their own food, which they did.

Lloyd split off from his other two friends to stop at a small convenience store, buying a small bag of hard candies to keep Kero happy, which he dropped into his backpack to do just that before moving on to the food courts where he knew Maurice and Alex would be. He spotted his two friends at different locations before searching for something he's like to eat and spotting a Manchu Wok. He'd grown a fondness for Chinese food over time so he bought plate of rice with some ginger beef, string beans, and some green peppers before looking around to see Maurice sitting down at a table and walking over to him and sitting down. Maurice was eating a submarine sandwich, the contents Lloyd didn't bother to guess at.

"Good food huh," Lloyd said.

"Yeah, you like Chinese eh?" Maurice asked.

"Yeah," at that point, Alex walked over with a plate of fries and a hot dog from New York Fries. Which he set down and began to eat, not speaking as he ate. The three of them ate in silence for a while, but all of them noticed that the people around the food court seemed a bit more sluggish than they expected for a mall food court. Lloyd looked around, thinking he sensed something as his eyes swept the crowd, until he noticed something. He squinted unsure at first but when he saw who it was he called out.

"Madison, Madison over here!" The girl he called to turned and smiled, waving back as she approached with her own plate of food from A&W.

"Lloyd Terada, I didn't expect to see you so soon," Madison said, "oh, who are your friends?"

"My name is Maurice Mackenzie," the moose said, "Will you join us please?"

"Sure, I'd love too," Madison sat down next to Alex and across from Lloyd. She turned to the fox and asked, "Who are you?"

"Alex Kitun," the fox said before going back to eating.

"We met Lloyd in Regina," Maurice said, "and from what Lloyd called you I take it you're his old friend Madison Tailor,"

"You're right," she said, taking a bite from her food. As they ate, the swapped stories about their lives. Lloyd remained silent as he had told them his story before so he just kept eating in silence. By the time they had all finished eating they were all caught up on each other's histories, and Lloyd had learned what Madison had been up to recently. For the most part she and her adopted brother Julian had been traveling the continent and visiting random relatives. Once the stories were done, Madison looked at the group and spoke again.

"You know, if you need a place to stay, you could come and stay with us and our aunt Beatrice, she has a lot of guest rooms, more than enough to accommodate all of you," She suggested.

"That would be good, it would save on us having to find accommodations," Maurice said.

"So where's you're brother?" Lloyd asked.

"He's grabbing groceries, he said he'd meet us here when he was done," Madison said, "By the way, where's Kero?"

"The stuffed animal, he's in the bear's backpack," Alex said, finishing up his food. Kero must have been sleeping, as he didn't react to Alex's statement. At that moment, Julian entered the food court eating a sandwich he'd gotten at the grocery store's deli. He searched for a while before spotting his sister and her friends and waving to them. He walked over to them, swallowed his food, and spoke up.

"Hey Madison, nice to see you again Lloyd, oh, who are you your friends?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later," Lloyd said.

"I believe we are staying with you for a while," Maurice said, "that is if Madison's invitation holds."

"Of course it does, com'on, I'll take you back to our aunt's house," Julian said. They all left the mall and headed for the care that Julian drove. Lloyd stopped for a moment before entering the car, a familiar tingle in the back of his head as he watched sleepy people, the few that there were, moving around the streets.

"Something's going here, and I bet it's a Clow Card," he said quietly before getting in.

As they drove, Soaring Heart flew overhead; he had seen his friends get into the car and followed overhead as they drove through the city. In the car stories were swapped once again to bring Julian up to speed before they arrived at the house of the sibling's aunt Beatrice. Once they parked and got out, Soaring Heart dove down to meet them.

Madison was a bit surprised but smiled and greeted the eagle politely, "Hi, I take it you're Soaring Heart Eagle then."

"Precisely," the eagle said, "And from your appearance and Lloyd's descriptions I assume you are Madison Taylor and you are her brother Julian Star."

"You assume correctly, now come inside, I'll show you your rooms," Julian said, unwrapping another deli sandwich he had gotten from the stores.

Soaring Heart rarely went into houses, partly because he enjoyed the outdoors but mostly because few people were willing to let an overgrown eagle into their houses. Soaring Heart was certainly shorter than most humans, being about the same height as the other three human-like animals he called friends, and he was well coordinated, but people found it harder to see him as human like owing to his body's slightly more animal orientation than that of his friends. The eagle looked around the room and smiled.

"This is a good place, I can stay in the same room as Maurice, as I do not need a bed," the eagle said.

"So where's your aunt?" Alex asked, "and how are you going to explain the furry guests to her?"

"I'll check, hold on," Julian set the groceries down in the kitchen, "Madison, can you put the food away?"

"OK, can any of you help me?" she asked her guests.

"I can help," Alex offered, "I know my way around a kitchen." Alex got up to help Madison with the groceries while the other three sat down, with Soaring Heart just standing and leaning on the couch. Lloyd set his backpack next to him and it stirred. Kero appeared stretching and yawned, before looking around.

"So, where are we today," the guardian beast said drowsily.

"We're staying with Madison again," Lloyd explained, "this house belongs to her aunt Beatrice."

"So, what are our plans for the moment," Soaring Heart asked.

"I say we just relax for a day or two eh, it's not everyday we get the treat of staying in a house as nice as this," Maurice added.

"I think there's more I have to do, but I have to be sure," Lloyd said. As they had left the center of the city, the feeling he'd had had faded and now he wasn't sure if he had really sensed anything. At that moment Julian reappeared from his aunt's bedroom with a somewhat concerned look on his face.

"You're aunt didn't take it well eh?" Maurice asked.

"It's not that, she's asleep and I couldn't wake her," Julian said, shaking his head. Madison re-entered the room.

"Oh no, not again," she said, sounding worried.

"What not again?" Alex said, as he too re-entered the main room.

"This is the second time this week that Aunt Beatrice has fallen asleep in the middle of the day and we haven't been able to wake her up," Madison explained.

"Is she sick?" Soaring Heart asked.

"No, and that's the strange thing," Julian said, "Not to mention that we've been seeing fewer people around during the day and even they look very drowsy."

"Sleep," Lloyd said looking at Kero. The guardian beast's expression had become serious again.

"You're saying the whole town is affected, Lloyd did you sense anything earlier while I was asleep?" Kero asked.

"Well, I did feel something," Lloyd said, "back when we were eating but I wasn't sure if it was anything significant. Do you think there's a Clow Card behind this?"

Kero crossed his arms and floated upwards, "There just might be, and if it's any card, then it's The Sleep Card."

"If one of those Clow Cards you're after can put people to sleep," Alex said, re-entering the living room, "that stuffed animal of yours might be onto something."

"Who are you calling a stuffed animal you brat!" Kero shouted. He flew at Alex only to have his tail grabbed and held by Maurice, who had stood up anticipating this as soon as Kero appeared. The guardian beast eventually calmed down and turned back to Lloyd.

"We're going to have to go back to where you sensed the card later so we can try to get it," Kero said.

"I know," Lloyd said, "the only thing is what time?"

"Going at night would pose a problem in such a populated area," Soaring Heart pointed out, "so it would be wiser o go during the day, since this card has reduced the number of observers to a bare minimum."

"A good observation eh," Maurice said, "so when should we go do this?"

"We?" Lloyd asked, "I don't think it would be wise for anyone except for me and Kero to go, the Clow Cards are dangerous and except for Alex and Madison, none of you have seen one in action before now," Lloyd pointed out.

"Hey, in case you forgot, I helped you to catch the last one you had to deal with," Alex said indignantly.

"That was pure chance, kid," Kero said.

"Kero's right," Lloyd added, "if I hadn't sealed the card as soon as I had then you might not be here."

"Hey if I hadn't distracted that card from getting to you then you wouldn't have been able to capture it and none of us would be here!" Alex shouted back, getting riled as easily as ever.

"And what if…"

"Enough!" Soaring Heart spread his wings, projecting his voice and shutting the others up. Once they were all looking at the eagle he spoke up, "I think it's fair that we all go, even if only to watch from afar so we can all understand what capturing a card entails. As long as we all stay back from the fighting we shouldn't get in your way."

Lloyd was about to protest when Maurice spoke up, "That sounds like a good idea eh, I've watched a card capture from afar, when you fought the Watery Card, remember Lloyd. Besides, you never know, we might be able to help eh." Lloyd knew he was defeated and sighed.

"OK, we'll go tomorrow afternoon," he said, "but for now, let's just settle in and get some rest."

Nothing else really happened that day, beyond them eating supper. Madison and Julian's Aunt Beatrice slept through it all as everyone ate and went to bed.

The next day everyone was at the downtown mall by lunch time. Lloyd wasn't in his battle costume because even if the overall population of the mall was low owing to the Sleep Card's presence, it was still too public and he would have drawn even more attention that he did for just being a short green bear. Upon entering he mall, Lloyd could sense the Clow Card clearly; it was nearby as was evident by the small amount of drowsy people who were still in the mall.

"Keep back," Lloyd said, taking the Clow Key out from his shirt so he could grab it at a moments notice. Alex huffed a bit but stayed silent, Maurice just rolled his eyes at Alex, Madison meanwhile had her video camera ready to record the capture. Soaring Heart had flown off earlier in the day to attend to his own matters. The food court was almost deathly silent when they arrived there, in fact a couple people had fallen asleep on their tables.

"It's close," Lloyd said. A sudden flash of insight hit him and the green bear spun to see a small blue fairy like thing flying through the air; it left a trail of sparkling blue dust.

"That's it," Love Heart said, holding out the key.

"Oh key of Clow, power of magic, power of light, surrender the wand, the force ignite, Release!" he charged the staff up and stood at the ready, but was forced to dodge aside, accidentally dropping the staff, so he wouldn't fall asleep. Alex dived under a nearby table, Maurice backed off and was able to get out of the path of the spirit and Kero poked his head out of the backpack Lloyd was wearing.

"Don't let the dust touch you, or even with your powers you'll fall asleep," Kero said.

"Right, I figured as much," the bear said, "Great, I lost my staff," he said, noticing it across the room. The sleep card dove at him and Lloyd was forced to get up and flee; without his staff he would be unable to seal the card, but for the moment he could at least try to capture it. He pulled out his medallion and turned, changing it into its sword form as he did, but didn't realize how close the Sleep Card was and was almost got hit by it, but Kero managed to get between them and was hit by the sleeping dust.

"Good night," Kero yawned as he sunk to the floor, Lloyd was concerned and turned to the card. The Sleep spirit, now seeing that the Cardcaptor was armed, turned and tried to flee. Lloyd quickly drew the Windy Card and threw it forwards, stabbing at it with his sword.

"Windy Card, use your power to bind Sleep, Release!" the green bear shouted, releasing the Windy Spirit which moved and easily held the Sleep spirit in place with its powers.

"Now all I need to do is seal it," he said, but as he turned to grab the staff he noticed the sleep wriggly free so he turned his attention back to it and reinforced the Windy with his own magic, but it wouldn't last, not long enough for Lloyd to get to his staff.

"Hey, Lloyd catch!" a voice shouted. Lloyd turned to see that Alex had gotten out from under his table, grabbed the Clow Staff, and threw it to the bear in a way that caused it to spin end over end as it flew at him. Lloyd sheathed his sword and caught the staff in mid air. Turning back to the Sleep Card he raised the staff.

"Sleep Card, I command you to return to your power confined, Sleep!" and swung the staff at the card, sealing it. Once he got the card in his hand he quickly signed his name to it and went to check on Alex and Maurice. Thankfully neither of them had been put to sleep.

"See. I told you that you needed my help," Alex rather smugly. Lloyd sighed and was about to reply when he saw Kero waking up and realized that the Sleep Card's effect were wearing off. Lloyd re-sealed his sword and staff, deciding to get out of the mall as soon as possible, grabbing Kero and stuffing him into his backpack before the left.

"Madison is going to be disappointed that she slept through this," the bear said.

"Right, well we know what to do when you capture a card eh," Maurice said.

"Yeah, and I was able to help you again, face it you need me, Lloyd," Alex said.

"In your dreams kid, you just got lucky that's all," Kero said.

"I'm not a kid I'm 13 you stuffed animal!" Alex retorted.

Lloyd sighed and thought to himself, _'Will those two ever stop?'_


	5. Anger Quickly Dissappears

(wow, I have really been neglecting this, but never fear, I believe my muse is back in a special way that may get at least one new chapter a month out from me, I hope, now hopefully you can still enjoy what I write here)

Chapter 5: Anger Quickly Disappears

"From the way things are going its going to take us a few hours to get to the southern end of the city," Soaring Heart said, studying a map and using his wings to trace the route. Lloyd was watching the path he traced and sighed impatiently.

"Why are we taking such a roundabout route?" the green bear asked, and began to trace a straighter route, "this way would take a 2 or 3 hours off our walk."

"That's not a smart idea Lloyd," Alex objected, "that's what people my age call 'the hood' and I wouldn't go through there if I were you."

"The hood?" Lloyd asked, "what's wrong with that, we can get through the city faster."

"That place is dangerous, if you live there most people know you and leave you alone if you're fairly normal. But if you wear the gang colors of this city or look rich, or strange you'll be harassed by gangs, probably even attacked." Alex's voice rose.

"Hey! How would you know?" Lloyd asked, "I can handle anything that comes my way, I've captured Clow Cards before."

"This is different!" Alex shouted back, "I used to live in the hood and in fact I was in a gang or two for a while so I know what it's like and you wouldn't be able to handle it!"

"Hey watch what you say kid, Lloyd can handle anything!" Kero said, poking his head out of Lloyd's backpack. Lloyd was about to start shouting again when Maurice spoke up.

"Alex is right eh, the hood is a dangerous part of the city to travel through when you look as strange as us. Besides, the longer route will let us see more of the city eh," Maurice said. Soaring Heart nodded, feeling Maurice had put it better than he could ever have.

"ARGH!" Lloyd shouted, thoroughly annoyed now, they were all against him, except Keo, "Fine then! You can take your lovely scenic route but I'll see you on the other side of the city! Good Bye!" Lloyd turned and stormed off, leaving the other three just staring at him.

"And you two say I'm immature," Alex commented, then laughed sarcastically.

Lloyd kept storming off for a few minutes while he was still fuming, eventually Kero poked his head out of the backpack and spoke up.

"Wow Lloyd, I wasn't expecting you to run off like that, think that was a good idea?" he asked.

"They were getting on my nerves and slowing me down, so I left them behind and I'm going on by myself," Lloyd said, clearly still angry.

Kero looked back over his shoulders and shrugged, "Well I'll miss Maurice and that eagle, but I guess as long as we can capture the Clow Cards, we should be fine." Lloyd nodded but said nothing, simply moving onwards and away from his old friends.

A short time later, Lloyd ran into a group of young adults and teenagers blocking his path down the back alley.

"Look at the little teddy bear," one commented causing the others to laugh cruelly at him.

"I don't have time for this," Lloyd said trying to push past. He was greeted with a bat that hit him in his chest and knocked the wind out of him, most people would have be laid out flat. Lloyd swayed a bit but stayed on his feet, "I don't want to fight, but if you insist." Before the other members of the group could do anything, Lloyd charged and struck the one who had hit him on his chin, stunning him and knocking him flat; before any of the others could respond to this sudden attack Lloyd turned on them and laid each of them out one at a time with single precise blows.

Lloyd stood panting but satisfied as Kero's head poked out of the backpack.

"What was that all about?" the guardian beast asked.

"Some guys who thought they could take me down, don't worry that should be the last of it," Lloyd replied.

An hour later, Lloyd was regretting his decision to cut through this part of town. In the last hour he had been confronted by another six gangs and had each time been forced to fight his way out of them; while this would not normally tire him out the green bear was being careful not to cause them permanent injury and while he still had the stamina to keep going he didn't want to keep this up all day. Finally he sighed and leaned against a nearby wall.

"Looks like those three were right," he said.

"Right about what?" Kero asked, having flown out to get some fresh air.

"The dangers of traveling through this part of the city," Lloyd said, turning around.

"Oh yeah, they did say that," Kero mused, "So what are you going to do?"

"I've got no choice, I'm going to go back and apologize, I just hope I can find them," Lloyd set off, walking faster than normal. Kero sped to catch him then ducked into his backpack.

"Well I hope we can get something to eat soon, I'm hungry," The guardian beast said impatiently.

"You always say you're hungry," Lloyd said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Because of his faster pace, and a lack of gang encounters along the way, Lloyd was able to return to where his friends had been in only half an hour. However, as Lloyd expected, they weren't there.

"I guess they went on ahead," Lloyd sighed sadly, "Guess I'll have to use a Clow Card to find them."

Before the green bear could do so, Kero spoke up, "That's strange, their bags and supplies are still here." Lloyd blinked and looked at where Kero had been pointing. He was correct, the stuff that the five of them had brought to the city was lying in a small pile next to the tree they had been standing under when the argument had broken out.

A voice from nearby caused Lloyd to turn and he saw Alex running towards him, looking actually scared. The red fox grabbed the green bear's shirt and began to speak without giving Lloyd a chance to reply.

"Oh man, Lloyd, thank god you're here! Maurice and Soaring Heart area gone! We were eating and making plans to go when Soaring Heart just started fading away then he was gone! The same thing happened to Maurice then I began to run because I was afraid the same thing was going to happen to me!" Alex voice was filled with a combination of fear and panic, "I think is a Cl…" but before the fox could continue his body faded away from the feet up and he was gone in moments.

Lloyd was stunned, but shook it off as quickly as possible, "It's a Clow Card," he said seriously, taking the key from around his neck, "Key of Clow, Release!" he summoned the staff from the key as quickly as possible and began to look around for the card, "Now which card is it?" he asked aloud.

Kero spoke up, "It's the Erase Card, it has the ability to erase things from existence."

"From existence, you mean Maurice, Soaring Heart, and Alex are gone?" Lloyd was shocked.

Kero shook his head and replied seriously, "Not completely, it takes time for the Erase Card to completely erase living creatures. They're physical bodies are gone but if you can seal it quickly then they'll come back."

"Right," Lloyd was slightly relieved but still concerned, "Then I'll just have to find that card fast." Lloyd couldn't see it so he closed his eyes, reaching out with his magical senses to try and locate it. At first he wasn't able to feel anything, but slowly he began to feel a faint magical energy signal. The Cardcaptor turned in the direction he could sense the energy from and opened his eyes, he was staring right at the tree where their supply packs were set.

Reacting on instinct, Lloyd grabbed his medallions, summoned his sword and plunged it into the tree's trunk. The wound did no apparent harm to the tree but a dark black mist began to flow out of it shortly after he struck it.

"That's it, hurry and seal it before it can erase you!" Kero shouted. Lloyd took no chances, he grabbed the sealing staff and held it overheard with both hands.

"Erase Card, I commands you to return to your power confined, Erase!" Lloyd swung down as the sealing incantation was completed, sealing the Erase Card into its card form. Not wasting time, Lloyd snatched it out of the air and grabbed a pen from a pocket of his vest, writing his name on the card to seal it. He then looked up, pulled his sword out of the tree's trunk. He sighed and turned around just in time to see Maurice, Soaring Heart, and Alex reforming, now released from the Card's power.

"Phew, that was close," he said, "Are you guys all right?" he asked, concerned for their well-being.

"I am fine," Soaring Heart said, ruffling his feathers and shaking his head, "that wasn't something I was prepared for."

"Me either eh," Maurice added, "Those Clow Cards can be scary sometimes."

"Yes they can," Lloyd said. His face then became downtrodden as he continued, sounding regretful, "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier, you guys were right, that part of the city was dangerous. I'm not hurt but I don't want to go through there again."

"You see, I was right," now that he was safe, Alex had almost instantly recovered from the scare caused by the Erase Card, "Now will you listen more often when I tell you things?"

"Fine, I admit you were right," Lloyd said, not really wanting to argue with Alex right now. Kero just stayed silent, not wanting to give Alex the satisfaction that he had been right.


	6. Important Announcement!

To anyone who actually reads this, I know there aren't many of you who actually read and like my work so I doubt this will be a great loss.

I've been trying to do this Cardcaptors storyline over and over again and to be honest it's just not working. I keep trying to force this crossover of fandoms and it's not gelling no matter how many times I've tried. Not to mention I'm just not interested in this anymore.

I know at least some people will hate me for this but I need to do what's right for me not what people keep telling me, so I'm going to stop this series here. I will be working on a new more original story and sending it around to people who ask or are my friends before I post it in public areas, I won't be removing my old stories but I will say I'm not going to keep working on the whole "cardcaptor Bear" angle anymore. It's jsut too hard and I have no interest in continuing it so to anyoen who reads this, that's what's happening.

If you want to learn more about my new series that I will be working on as soon as I can figure out how to get it to work, then just ask, PM or Email me.

-Wilson


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